


Light Within

by rockwell_psycho



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, Reader-Insert, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:48:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28820229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockwell_psycho/pseuds/rockwell_psycho
Summary: You own a repair workshop and just live your quiet life on your own, until one day you meet The Mandalorian and something changes.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Din Djarin/Reader
Kudos: 39





	Light Within

**Author's Note:**

> It’s my 2nd Mandalorian fic and it’s still scary to write for big popular fandoms, help ._.

You miss him. It’s been a while since the last time you’ve met, and your heart is aching almost physically when you think you might never see him again, so you keep chasing this thought away.

Each time you hear the sounds of an engine, you literally hold your breath. But days go by, and it’s never him. You think you’re about to lose your hope. A piece of it is still shining deep within you though, but the light is already fading.

With a deep sigh you curl under the blanket and close your eyes. You need to sleep. Sleep is good.

* * *

You can hardly tell at what point he became something more than just a steady customer of your repair workshop.

Even though you live and work in the middle of a desert, you could never complain about the lack of customers. You’re quite well known for your technical skills, and it’s not surprising - you’ve been into this since you were a kid. The workshop belonged to your father, and to your father’s father before. Apparently passion for engines is something inherent in your family. Now that your dad passed away, you run the business alone quite successfully, he taught you well. The customers know you can fix basically everything - from droids and communication devices to all sorts of vehicles, including spaceships.

Your customers are pretty much everyone, but mostly smugglers or bounty hunters - these people’s lifestyles often lead them in trouble, and if they’re lucky enough to get out of it alive, they still need their stuff to be repaired in most of the cases.

The Mandalorian was one of those bounty hunters. Yet he was different.

* * *

You’re not quite sure why, but even though you weren’t able to see his face, you still just knew you could trust him. Maybe it was his politeness, or his loyalty to the creed... Or maybe just your intuition.

Sometimes when your customer’s vehicle was seriously damaged and you physically couldn’t manage to fix it in a single day, you would suggest them taking your landspeeder and going to the nearest cantina where the rooms were almost always available to rent for a night. Mando was the first person you allowed to stay in your place. It was his third or fourth visit to your workshop. You couldn’t tell you knew him well, but you trusted him already. It surprised you, as you didn’t trust bounty hunters that easily. But… Yes, he was just different. There was something about him that made you feel safe.

You remember that for some reason you couldn’t sleep that night. It happened to you from time to time. For some reason he couldn’t sleep either 

Mando has never been much of a talker, but that night you talked. That’s when you discovered that the two of you had more in common than you expected. Not only you both were used to living alone, you both lost your parents at a rather young age. You told him you could hardly remember your mother as she died when you were a baby. That you were raised by your father, and probably it was the main reason you were so good with engines. Mando told you he was a foundling. It was not typical for the both of you to reveal that much personal information to... Basically anyone. But it didn’t feel bad or awkward. You understood each other.

You showed him an old abandoned spaceship you found in the desert. You had to go to the city to get help, but in the end you managed to transport it into one of the hangars of the workshop.

“Usually when I can’t sleep I just come here and work on it. It still needs a lot of fixing and it’s challenging, but I like it,” you said. “Sometimes I like to dream that once I’m done with it, I’ll take a long vacation and… I’ll just hop inside and go somewhere… Anywhere. See the Galaxy.”

“You know, if you really want to go somewhere you could just get a ride...”

“Yeah, I know. But… I’m not in a hurry. I actually like the way I live. I’m doing what I’m good at and what I love, that’s the most important thing right?”

The Mandalorian nodded in agreement. “Not many people have the luxury to do what they _really_ love. 

“Exactly. So... I can consider myself lucky, I guess. The only problem is that sometimes... It feels a little lonely around here, you know…” you paused for a couple of seconds. “And you? Do you ever feel lonely?”

He just shrugged, sighing through the modulator, but you both already knew the answer without any words.

* * *

Next time you met him, something wasn’t right. You realized immediately. The way he walked as if running on fumes… He seemed either hurt or exhausted, or both. As he came closer you could see the reason - an injury.

“Dank farrik, Mando!”

“Good to see you too,” he grunted.

“You’re bleeding…”

Whoever hurt him was damn precise, but thankfully not precise enough. The fabric above his collarbone, one of not so many places on his body that wasn’t covered with bescar armor, was soaked with blood. Mando was obviously a lucky guy - only a few centimeters and the death would’ve been inevitable.

Lucky... But still he clearly suffered from blood loss and needed help 

“Alright... Sit here. Don’t move.” you murmured frantically 

“Are you… Fixing humans too?” he tried to joke as you arrived with the first aid kit.

“My clients are risky people. Shit happens,” you replied, picking a bottle of bacta spray. “You need to take this off. I’ll help.”

He snatched your wrist as you reached his shoulder.

“I can take care of myself… I just... Need you to fix the ship.”

“I'm sure you can, but Mando, you lost a lot of blood… The ship can wait, and you know it, just… Let me help you. Please?”

His grip became slightly less firm.

“Why?”

“Because I'm your friend. At least I believe so. And you know, friends… I don't have that many of those. Something tells me you can relate…”

You could hear a deep heavy sigh escaping him as he released your hand, allowing you to touch him.

You helped him to remove the armor, the cape and the blood stained tunic underneath, and then you focused on his injury. Thanks to your experience, it didn't take much time to dress the wound properly.

“Turns out you really can fix _anything_.” Mando's tired voice broke the silence of the night.

“I just do what I can.”

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

“Y/n, I… Didn't mean to be rude to you. I'm just not really used to… not being on my own. I’m sorry.”

“That's okay,” you replied reassuringly as you laid your hand on his bare chest. You did this completely absentmindedly, as some unconscious way to show affection. And as you felt him slightly tensing, you realized that he also probably wasn't used to being touched… Or was he? The fact he can't show his face doesn't forbid him from…

_“Kriff, y/n, what are you even thinking??”_

You instantly felt your cheeks almost burning at the thought.

“Sorry, I…” you mumbled. Suddenly his big warm palm laid on your hand, not letting you remove it.

“It's fine. Thank you.”

With this, he slowly leaned a little closer to you, very carefully pressing his forehead against yours. You felt the cold of bescar against your skin and closed your eyes 

You stayed like that for a while, unable to move. Foreheads pressed together, your palm on his chest, his hand on yours, heartbeat underneath your fingertips.

You couldn't even explain why it felt so intimate and tender.

He left the next day, as he always did. But there was something that stayed. This unspoken bond you shared now. Some nights, when you felt particularly lonely or sad, you closed your eyes and imagined the cold of bescar and your hand in his. The memory filled you with warmth, it lit up your existence. You were hoping this light would never fade.

* * *

You haven’t heard from him for quite a long while this time, and your heart literally jumped as saw him at your door again. Without even thinking, driven purely by emotions, you rushed towards him. The Mandalorian froze for a second - a hug from you caught him by surprise, but then you felt him hugging you back carefully.

“Maker, I worried about you! I heard people talking about you and felt like you were in trouble…”

“Wait…” He drew back a little, his hands on your shoulders. “Did anyone ask you about me?”

“No, don’t worry. I just overheard some conversation out there in the city. I’ve never told anyone that I know you. But… Mando, what have you done? From what I heard it seems like some really dangerous people are looking for you because you’ve got something they need…”

“Well, you’re not wrong. Only… it’s more like _someone..._ ”

* * *

The moment you looked into the child’s big curious eyes, you didn’t need any further explanations. Mando just did what he had to. The right thing. Whoever was this little one, he should never be an instrument in some evil and powerful hands. He deserved better.

You knew Mando well enough to understand that he’d never been able to sleep well if he betrayed this innocent being, even if it got him in trouble. And you were always ready to offer your help and support.

After he told you about his adventures on this unusual bounty, you went to examine Razor Crest. The ship was actually in a pretty good shape, just a couple of insignificant issues you could fix with ease… Basically, you were sure he could even fix them without your help, which made you wonder…

“Mando, can I ask you something?”

“What’s that?”

“The real reason you came over... It’s not the ship, is it?”

He looked at you, head slightly tilted to the side, and even though you couldn’t see his eyes, you still felt flustered under his gaze. Probably because you already knew what he was about to say.

“No, it’s not. I... Wanted to see you.”

It was so obvious, and yet your cheeks instantly flushed up as he said it out loud.

“Maybe it was… Incautious though, considering what you heard,” he continued. “I don’t want to get you in trouble, y/n. Probably I should go now.”

“No!” you grabbed his forearm as if he was already leaving. Realizing how desperate it sounded, you tried to speak in a calmer tone. “No. Nobody knows you’re here, so… It’s safe, at least for now. And it’s late. Please... Stay.”

Carefully, he reached your hand, took it in his. His thumb grazed your knuckles and the softness of this gesture made you shiver.

“Okay.”

* * *

You ended up making love that night. It was far from being romantic, more like awkward and messy. Both desperately touch starved, you didn’t even bother taking off all the clothes, and of course his helmet was on. But despite the awkwardness it still was better than all your previous, not that vast experience. It wasn’t about lust, or passion, or physical attraction. Just a sheer need to be as close to each other as possible, in every sense of a word.

It was good to nuzzle into the crook of his neck, muffling a moan of pleasure; to be held by him, to feel him shuddering against your body and throbbing inside of you.. Overwhelming. You wished you could see his face, kiss his lips, but even though you couldn’t have it, it didn’t matter much. You still were together, here and now, and at least until morning two lonely souls were not lonely anymore.

* * *

You often asked yourself how is it even possible to have such deep feelings towards someone whose face you’ve never seen. Maker, you don’t even know his name, he was always just Mando for you. How could you trust a person if you don’t know their name?..

And yet you trust him like no one before. You trust him with your life.

* * *

You sat on your cot abruptly, your half asleep mind trying to figure out what woke you up. Apparently it was some noize from outside, but in your current state you just can’t tell if the noize was real or you heard it in your dream. What a weird feeling. You rub your eyes and listen closely for a few seconds. All is quiet around except the hum of your heat generator, familiar to the point you hardly pay attention. That sound… yes, it probably was just a dream and you should go back to sleep... But what if it wasn’t?

You decide to go check. But first you find a flashlight and put a simple electric taser into your pocket just in case - if you live alone you inevitably learn how to defend yourself.

On your way to the door you think you hear something again. Or maybe it’s just your mind playing tricks on you - hard to tell, only one way to find out. You decidedly push the button and as the door slides open, you see a figure of a man, who’s just about to reach for an intercom device at the entrance.

For a moment you both freeze in place, staring at each other, your brain desperately trying to realize why his silhouette is so _painfully_ familiar. He then makes a step closer, his dark brown eyes carefully examining your face. His expression is a bit worried and also somehow soft; his hair is dark as well, thick and messy as if he was asleep, or was wearing something on his head, like a cape or…

A helmet.

That’s what he’s holding in his left hand.

“M-Mando?..” you gasp, nearly dropping the flashlight, unable to believe your own eyes. “Is... Is that really you?..”

He nods slowly and closes his eyes as you reach your hand to cup his cheek. Gently, you caress his skin with just your fingertips, as if you’re afraid he’ll disappear like some sort of hallucination.

“Can’t believe I... finally see you,” you whisper. “That you’re here and won’t just… fade away if I close my eyes…”

“I’m here,” he replies quietly, turning his head to press his lips against your palm for a few long seconds. “I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

There's so much you want to ask him. Why is the helmet off? Where's the little one? Why don't you see the Crest anywhere around?.. So many questions, but not now. You'll have plenty of time to talk later. For now all you can say is “I missed you so much, Mando.”

“I missed you too. And, y/n… My name is Din.”

“Din _._ ” you repeat, smiling through sudden tears. “ _Din_.” His name is simple and beautiful in its simplicity. You like the sound of it on your tongue.

He smiles back, enclosing you in his arms, and presses his forehead against yours, almost like he did before, but now he’s way closer. The tips of your noses touch as his lips search for yours, hesitantly, but you meet him halfway.

The kiss is chaste and gentle at first, before you part your lips a little more, wordlessly inviting him to go deeper, and he complies. It’s slow and sensual, and you both want to remember every second of it. Sighing against his mouth, you sink your fingers into the softness of his hair, and he holds you close, nuzzles into your neck and inhales your scent deeply.

“I wanted it for so long,” He murmurs against your skin.

Reluctantly pulling back, you take his hand.

“Come on. Let’s get inside.”

And for the first time in ages you feel absolutely, impossibly, shamelessly happy as he follows you.

The light within you is shining brighter than ever, and there’s no such force in the galaxy that can put it out.


End file.
